Back in December, a 16-year-old boy and his 18-year-old friend were in the toilet at Tesco when the younger boy was molested by a convicted paedophile. After the attack, 55-year-old Gavin Murray also assaulted the older boy but was eventually accosted by supermarket security. Appearing at Hamilton Sheriff Court, Murray admitted molesting the boy.

On December 28, the two teens had been in the Bellshill, Lanarkshire Tesco toilet. The younger boy was washing his hands while the older boy was in a cubicle. Murray reportedly approached the boy he thought to be alone and proceeded to molest him. He grabbed the boy's groin area, prosecutor Neil Thomson told the court.

Startled by the inappropriate gesture, the boy started shouting at Murray. Hearing his friend shout, the older boy came out of the cubicle to check on him. He saw that the elderly man was blocking the exit, preventing his friend from leaving the toilet. The older boy confronted the sex offender but was head-butted in the face by Murray.

Intervention from his friend allowed the victim to run out and alert supermarket security. The brave friend tackled the attacker and held him down until security and police arrived. Police took Murray to the hospital where he was treated for a small cut to his head. He was then charged for sexually assaulting the teenager.

Murray is a repeat sex offender. In 1985, he had been jailed for eight years for raping a minor and trying to kill him.

The Daily Record reported that the former council gravedigger had abducted a boy with the intent to sexually assault him. He took the 13-year-old to the woods near Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire. He then forced the boy to undress and sexually assaulted him. The boy's ordeal did not end there. The paedophile dug a shallow grave and tried to bury the boy alive. When the boy tried to run away, Murray chased him and hit him multiple times with a hammer.

In 2006, Murray was arrested again when social workers taped him saying that he would repeat his actions again. However, when he was presented in court, he was released as the sheriff ruled the confession to have been obtained "unfairly."

At the hearing last Friday, the sheriff deferred the sentencing to next month. The risk assessment report and criminal justice social work report will be taken into consideration during the sentencing. Until the sentencing, Murray will remain in police custody and had been placed on the sex offender's register.

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Convicted paedophile, who tried to bury his first victim alive, molested a 16-year-old boy in a Tesco toilet. Photo: AFP / Tolga AKMEN